Spring mechanism



July 19, 1932.

E. BRONSTIEN SPRING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 2, 1929 s Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR Edward L ronstien/ July 19, 1932. E. 1.. BRONSTIEN SPRINGMECHANISM s Shets-Shee't 2 Filed Aug. 2. 1929 mvENTolg Jul --1 9, 1932.

E. L. BRONSTIEN SPRING MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 I H z E 525E515 FiledAug. 2, 19-

INVENTOR Patented July 19, 1932 EDWARD BRON'STIEIL OF ST. PAUL,MINNESOTA spams MECHANISM! npplieation filed August 2, 1929. Serial No.383,088.

The present invention relates to an attachment for a spring compressingand feeding machine;

v In the manufacture of upholstery and spring filled matresses it iscommon'practice to enclose a plurality of coil springs in small,individual cloth containers.

At present, it is customary to manually compress these springs andinsert them in an 19 opening between two tongues, the tongues being theninserted inthe cloth pockets in which the coils are to be enclosed.

An object of the present invention is to mechanically compress a'coilspring and to 5 insert it in a cloth pocket.

In order to attain this object, there is provided, in accordance withone feature; of the invention, a pivoted lever which receives the spring'when discharged from the spring, forming machine and drives the springforward between two cam surfaces to compress the spring, each spring asit is movedforward between, the cam surfaces acting upon the previouslycompressed spring to force it forward into a cloth pocket positioned toreceive it.

These and other features of the invention will be more fully brought outin the followings, in which:

7 Figure 1 is a view in top elevation of the attachment. s

Figure 2 is a view in side elevation thereof. I Figure 3 is a view infront elevation thereof; and

Figure 4'is a view in side elevation of a cam and lever arrangementwhich operates the attachment on the completion of each cycle ofoperation of the spring making machine. 4 Referring to the'drawings indetail, it is not .deemed necessary to show'the spring forming machine,as these machines are well known to the art, the device being adaptablecated at 1, a curved guide member 2 being mounted to be positioned.centrally of the ing description and the accompanying'draw-' for use inconnection with any machine which spring as it is discharged, to receivethe spring and guide it downwardly over a rece1v1ng arm 3. The receivingarm is purposely placed out of alinement with the guide arm 2 so thatwhen the spring 4 is dropped overthe arm 3, its upward rebound will bechecked by striking the lower surface 5 of the guide arm 2. The springdrops onto a lower camway 6, which comprises a, pair of curved platessloped upwardly and for war'dly. The lever arm 3 is pivotally connectedto a second lever 7 which is fixedly secured to a shaft 8, which in turnis pivotally mountedupon the frame 9 of the attachment.

An operating lever 10 is fixedly secured to an endof the shaft 8 and theupper end of this lever ispivotally secured to a rod 11 which extendsrearwardly, the other end thereof being secured to an operating lever12. A turnbuckle 13 is provided centrally of the rod 11 to adjust thelength thereof. The

operating vlever 10 is provided with a cam roller 13 which rides againsta cam surface 14 on a sprocket 15, which rotates once for each cycle ofoperation of the spring making machine. This cam is "positioned to'operate the lever 10 as each spring is discharged from the formingmachine. Upon the completlon of each cycle of operation of the springforming machine, the cam 14 forces the operatln .lever forward, movingthe'lower lever 7 an with it the upper lever 3, forward to drive thespring 4. forward between the upper and lower cam surfaces to compressthe sprlng.

The lever 3, is fixedly mounted on a shaft.

16 which is pivotally mounted in the lever 7 A set screw 18 is mountedin the lower lever 7 to rest against the rear surface of the lever 3 tolimit the rearward pivotal movement thereof. A locknut 19- is providedto lock the screw 18 in an adjusted'positionl' The upper cam surfacecomprises a pair of curved metal-plates 20 and 21, which converge towardthe lower camway 6 so that at their upper and forward ends they are vseparateda distance which is determined by the required degree. ofcompression which it is desired to give the springs 22 when inserted inthe pockets. A pa1r of guide tongues 23 and 24 are mounted forwardly ofa the upper and forward ends of the camway and are spaced apart the samedistance as the upper and forward ends of the camway so that the springmay be slidably moved forward between these tongues, while still held inthe required degree of compression. A pawl 25 is pivotally mounted nearthe upper end of the upper camway and is provided with teeth 26 in thelower surface thereof to engage the springs 22 and prevent their beingretracted when the lever 3 is returned 'to a normal position. The pawl26 is pro- As the coil spring 4 is completed it is severed by theforming machine in a well known manner and is guided by the guide arm 2downwardly andyfalls onto the upper lever arm 3 to rest upon the lowercamway 6. As it is dropped onto the camway it rebounds and strikes theend 5 of the guide arm 2 which prevents it from rebounding upwardly withthe possibility ofstriking the end of the upper camway when it is forcedforward- A er the spring is dropped onto the lever arm 3, the cam 14engages the cam roller 13 mounted upon the operating lever 12 forcingthe operating lever 12 forward.

This drives the rod 11 forward and swings the lever and with it thelever 7 forward, forcing the coil spring between the camways 6 and 20,the levers 7 and 3, moving forward to the dotted line position 3a, shownin Figure 2. The spring which was moved forward bythe previous operationof the machine occupies the position X in Figure 2 until the time whenthe next spring is moved forward by the lever arm 3. Each suoceed-,

ing springforces the operating spring from the position X to theposition Y between the tongues 23 and 24 in Figure 2. As the camrotates, the cam roller 13 passes the high point on the cam and theretracting spring 28 then moves the operating lever 10 rearwardly,

drawing the thrust rod 11 rearwardly and permitting the lever 7 and thelever3to return to normal. As the lever 3 is drawn. rearwardly, the pawlholds the spring into position X and the lever 3 then pivots upon therod 16 to the dotted line position 3?) in Figure 2, withdrawing thelever arm 3 from the spring. As soon as the lever arm clears the springit is returned to its normal position resting against the screw 18 bymeans of the spring 29 which engages the lever 30 on the end of the rod11 upon which the lever 3 is mounted. r

The pocketed cloth strip for receiving the springs is shown in Figure 1,and comprises a strip of cloth folded lengthwise upon itself, as at 31,and sewed transversely by single rows of stitching, as at 32. At eachspring is inserted in a pocket in this strip,

the strip is manually withdrawn with the spring in the pocket and thenext pocket in the strip is inserted over the tongues 23 and 24 toreceive the next successive spring as it is discharged.

I claim: I v

1. A spring 'machine attachment, comprising a frame adapted to beattached to a spring manufacturing machine, a lever pivotally mountedonsaid frame, a second lever pivotally connected to said first lever andadapted to receive a coil spring as it is discharged from said springmanufacturing machine, a camway mounted in the path of said second leveras it is moved forward to laterally compress the coil spring carried bysaid second lever, operative means connecting said levers to said springmanufacturing mechanism to move said levers for ward on completion ofeach cycle of operation of said spring manufacturing machine, and meansto withdraw said second lever from engagement with said spring on aretractive movement of said levers.

2. A spring machine attachment, comprising a frame adapted to beattached to a spring manufacturing machine, a lever having a hingedplate mtermediately thereof, pivotall mounted on said frame, meansmounte to normally hold the parts of said lever in alinement with eachother, means operatively connecting the lever to said spring machine tomove said lever forward upon the completion of each cycle of operationof said spring manufacturing machine, cam means mounted to laterallycompress said spring as it is moved forward by said lever, and a pawlmounted to engage said spring at the full forward movement of saidspring by said lever to prevent retraction of said spring.

3. A, spring machine attachment comprising a frame adapted to beattached to a spring forming machine, a post mounted centrally of thespring-forming mechanism and of smaller diameter than the coil springformed by said mechanism, a lever arm normally in alinement with oneside of-said post and out of alinement with another side of said post, aplate mounted to arrest downward movement of springs discharged fromsaid coiling mechanism at a predetermined point, said plate beingpositioned at an angle to direct springs falling thereon upwardlyagainst the portion of said post not in al nement with said lever, meanshaving operative connection with said coiling mechanism to move saidlever forward upon the completion of each spring, and a camway mountedcompressed to prevent a retractive movementto compress said spring on aforward movement of said lever.

4. A spring machine attachment comprising a frame adapted to be attachedto-a spring forming. machine, guide means mounted to lie within a coilspring during its formation,

a lever mounted to receive a coil spring as it is discharged from saidguide means, a plate mounted to arrest the downward movement of saidcoil spring at a predetermined point, said guide means being offset fromsaid lever to arrest the upward rebound of a coil spring after strikingsaid plate, means mounted to move said lever forward after thecompletion of each spring, and a camway mounted to compress said coilspring during a: forward movement of said lever.

5. A spring machine attachment comprising a frame adapted to be attachedto a' spring forming machine, guide means mounted to lie within a coilspring during-it formation, a lever mounted to receive a coil spring asit is discharged from said guide means, a plate mounted to arrest thedownward movement of said coil spring at a predetermined point, saidguide means being offset from said lever to arrestthe upward rebound ofa coil prmg" after strlklng said plate, means mounted to move said leverforward after the completion of each spring; a

camway mounted to compress said coil spring during a forward movement ofsaid lever, and means mounted to grip said coil spring when compressedto prevent a retractive movement thereof.

6. A spring machine attachment comprising a frame adapted to be attachedto a spring forming machine, guide means mounted to lie withina coilspring during its formation, a lever mounted to receive a coil spring asit is discharged from said guide means, a plate mounted to arrest thedownward movement of said coil spring at a predetermined point, saidguide means being offset from said lever to arrest the upward re-, boundof a coil spring after striking said plate, means mounted to move saidlever forward after the completion of each spring, a camway mounted tocompress said coil spring during a forward movement of said lever, meansmounted to grip said coil spring when thereof, and means to withdrawsaid lever from said spring in a full. compressed condition at thecompletion 0 each cycle of operation thereof.

7 A spring machine attachment, comprising a frame adapted to be attachedto a spring 7 manufacturing machine, a lever pivotally mounted on sa 1dframe, lever operating means coordinating with said spring manufacturingmachine to reciprocally move said lever forward and back upon'thecompletion of avspring by said spring manufacturingmachine, a cam-waymountedin the pathof said lever as it is moved forward to laterallysprings, the combination of a throat having converging walls betweenwhich the springs may be received and which serve to compress thesprings axially when the latter are moved along the throat toward theconvergedends of said throat walls, a reciprocating finger adapted toenter the coils of said springs and move the latter along said throat,and" means for preventing retrograde movement of said springs when therear portions of .said springs are engaged by said reciprocating memberin its retractive movement. Y

9. In an apparatus for compressing coil springs, the combination of athroat having converging walls between which the springs may be receivedand which serve to compress the springs axially when the latter aremoved along the throat toward the converged ends of said throat walls, areciprocating finger adapted to enter the coils of said sprin'gs andmove the latter along said throat, and means for automaticallydisengaging said finger from the springs subsequent to the forwardmovement of the latter in said throat.

10. In an apparatus for compressing coil springs, the combination of athroat having converging walls between which the springs may be receivedand which serve to compress the springs axially when the latter aremoved along the throat (toward the converged ends of said throat walls,and a reciprocating finand move the latter along said throat, saidthroat being provided with a shoulder-facing its discharge and toprevent retrograde movement of the springs after passing said shoulder.i

11. In an apparatus for compressing coiled wire springs, the combinationof a throat having converging walls, an arm, means for reciprocatingsaid arm in and along .said throat so as to-propel a coiled wire springthrough said throat and thereby compress said spring axially, andspringfeeding means synchronized with said arm operating means fordelivering springs singly and successively to a position adjacent theintake end of said throat, so as to be engaged by said arm when thelatter moves along said throat.

,through said throat and thereby compress said spring axially, andspring feeding means synchronized with said arm operating means fordelivering springs singly and successively to a position adjacent theintake end of said throat,-so as to be engaged by said arm when thelattermoves along said throat, the arrangement including means forautomatically disengaging said arm from said spring after the completionof the forward move:

ment of said arm.

13. .In an apparatus for compressing coiled wire springs, thecombination of a throat having converging walls, a rocking lever,

means for rocking said lever in and along said throat so as to propel acoiled wire spring through said throat and thereby compress .said springaxially, spring feeding means synchronized with said lever operatingmeans for dchverln g springs singly and successively 1n timed relationto a position so that they will surround the free outer end of saidlever,

and means for automatically withdrawing the end of said lever from theinterior of the spring after the completion of the forward movement ofthe lever.

14. In an apparatus for compressing coiled I wire springs, thecombination of a throat having converging walls, a rocking lever, meansfor rocking said lever in and along said throat so as to propel a coiledwire spring through said throat and, thereby compress said springaxially, spring feeding means synchronized with said lever operatingmeans for delivering springs singly and successively in timed relationto a position so that they will surround the free outer end ofsaidiever, and means for automatically withdrawing the end of said leverfrom the interior of the spring after the completion of the forwardmovement of the lever, said last named means comprising a joint in saidlever and means for rendering said joint effective during only thebackward movement of said lever.

- In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

EDWARD L. BRONSTIEN.

